I like Flat Pedals and Kick Stands and riding in a dress.

November 21, 2013

Support the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act

Bicycle Safety Act would redirect funding

Thursday November 21, 2013 5:29 AM

I respond to the Friday Dispatch article “More Ohioans die on road in 2012.” Ohio’s rate of crashes is so high, it has even raised the national statistics, which means we are lagging other states in taking action to address safety on our roadways.

As part of this phenomenon, we are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of men and women killed while bicycling or walking on our roadways each year. We know that young people want to live in communities which embrace safe, active transportation. Ohio needs to do more.

People who bike and walk make up 16 percent of roadway fatalities, and yet less than 1 percent of safety funding is directed to infrastructure that would protect those biking and walking. A coalition of bipartisan House lawmakers has introduced the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act, which will require the U.S. Department of Transportation to set specific safety targets for all roadway users — not just motorists, but pedestrians and bicyclists, too.

The legislation would give the U.S. Department of Transportation the flexibility to determine the best method to meet these safety measures, and call on our leaders to reduce the number of people who are killed or injured on our streets every year.

This bill says clearly that the lives of all roadway users are important, and creates accountability toward preventing needless deaths. Without it, people who bike and walk will remain in the blind spot of our transportation system.

Please contact your congressional representative along with Sens. Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown to ask them to vote for this straightforward, bipartisan bill, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Act.